Everybody cheered as the bride and groom shared their first kiss.
They walked hand in hand back up the isle, friends and family
clapping them on, some throwing petals in celebration.
A young couple watched from the pews, smiling as the newly wed
made their grand exit from the arched colonial church.
“Hard to believe it’s been 8 years.” The man said. “I can still see us
standing there.” She glanced at him while he admired the tall stained
glass windows. “You’re still looking pretty good.” she added. He smirked
“you’re not so bad yourself.”
“So what do we do now?” he asked. “it’ll be a few hours till the
reception.” “I think there’s erb-derbs and drinks on the lawn”, she
replied. “Erb-derbs?” he laughed. “You mean horse divorce?”.
“Yea” she smiled, “Hors d’oeuvres”. She mockingly threw her nose
in the air and he copied. “Shall we retire to the garden terrace my dear?”
he said, offering a linked arm. “Tally ho.” she quipped in a spirited
English accent. She rested her hands on his arm and they both chortled
as they exited the small chapel.
The open lawn was adorned with round tables, each draped with a cloth
and decorated with summer flowers. A bottle of wine was placed off
center next to a small plate of canapés. They walked to a table under
the partial shade of a red gum tree. “shall we sit?” he asked, pulling a
chair out for her. “Oh, thank you good sir” she said. He sat down
opposite her and poured them both a glass of red wine, the fine
bubbles glistened in the light of the late afternoon sun. She took a sip, then
breathed in deep, reclining with one leg over the other, glass still in
hand. “You look relaxed.” he said. “mhmm” she mumbled with closed
eyes. “Its been a while”.
This wedding was a little different from most they had attended, they
only really knew the bride and groom. As such, they didn’t feel the
pressure to mingle, it was a nice change of pace and a rare opportunity
just to enjoy the atmosphere. He looked around and drew his own deep
breath, trying to catch a hint of the clean country air. Instead, the subtle
floral notes of her perfume beckoned his attention.
In the rush of getting to the wedding on time, he hadn’t even had a
chance to stop and admire the effort she’d gone to. The crimped loose curls
caressed her neck and the floral cocktail dress hugged her figure tightly,
only below her hips did the dress open to soft pleats cut just above the knee.
“What you lookin’ at punk?” she jested. “Nuthin’.” His grin hidden as he took
another sip from the glass.
They sat, idly chatting until the golden haze sun dipped below the vineyard
hills. Warm blinking fairy lights sparkled, dangling from the tree above
and the shadows cast to danced to the ambient music from under the marquee.
The couples chatter growing more boisterous like the dusk birds in the distance,
the wine bottle now empty.